them to be opposed to HISD's proposal. Peter Brown, the Houston City Council At-Large Position 1, opposed the idea. Brown said that the renovation of Worthing would be less costly than the consolidation. Brown also cited a Gates Foundation study to support his point. On December 4, 2008 Abelardo Saavedra, the HISD superintendent, said that he would for now shelve plans since they had insufficient support from the board of trustees. School board trustee Paula M. Harris expressed support for the consolidation plan, arguing that magnet schools and small neighborhood schools, many of which were closed by the district, should be treated in the same manner. Margaret Downing of the Houston Press added that Worthing parents did not like how the controversy "denigrated" the school. 2008-2010s Tamara Sterling became the principal in July 2009; she was the school's first female principal. She later switched jobs, taking one in the Northeast United States, and Todd Nix replaced her in fall 2011. At one point Nix had been accused of promoting academic dishonesty in testing, at a school district he previously worked for, and he resigned from being principal at Worthing. He was later found to have not been responsible for academic dishonesty. HISD superintendent Terry Grier chose John Modest as the new principal. Modest also resigned, but this time due to a severe illness. Duane Clark replaced Modest. Clark lost his job due to low test scores. The school's main football coach, also a special education teacher, stated in a 2018 Houston Chronicle article that morale among the teachers declined due to the constant principal turnover; there had been a total of six from 2008 to 2018. In the period 2011-2018 Worthing had the highest such administrative turnover rate of any Houston high school. In 2011, two persons opened fire during a powder-puff American football game at Worthing. One man, an 18-year old former student named Tremaine De Ante’ Paul, died. Five other people received injuries. Laura Insensee of Houston Public Media stated that the incident damaged the reputation of the school. The 2007 school bond specified that Worthing would receive a renovation. On Wednesday March 21, 2012, the school's renovation and expansion groundbreaking ceremony was held. The $805 million bond referendum, approved in elections in 2007, was to fund the renovation and expansion. At the ceremony, Licia Green Ellis, the wife of Texas Senate member Rodney Ellis, gave a $10,000